Category Archives: Racing

As most of you know, Motor Man builds race engines for round-track cars as well as hydroplanes (race boats).

Our local short track, Langley Speedway, has been around for 66 years. Last year, because of negotiations between the owners and the current leasee, the track didn’t open. Life went on, of course, and many of Langley’s regulars traveled to other tracks to race.

But this season, Langley is back. The first race was last Saturday, but prior to that, of course, there were practice sessions.

Motor Man with Danny, one of our engine customers

Motor Man went to both practice days, but I was just at one. It was a cold, windy day, so the inside of the car hauler was a good shelter. Mark is also a racer and, while not one of our engine customers, he is a long time friend.

photo by our friend, Ashly

It was still cool Saturday for racing, but no chance of rain, which is always good. And the parking lot was full, with cars all along the street and nearby areas.

And the stands were packed.

Mark finished 3rd; Danny had shock issues and finished 7th.

It’s good be back “home”.

~These Days Of Mine~

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The annual boat race known as the Hampton Cup Regatta took place this weekend at our “home” course near historic Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Va. It’s one of the oldest boat races in the country, the first one taking place in 1926.

One of my favorite sights at a boat race are the roostertails, the spray of water from the backs of the boats.

Boat races are family events, and friends of ours brought their three granddaughters to Sunday’s race. They made some new friends, and got t-shirts and autographs from David of Black Falcon Racing. It was the first trip to Hampton for David and his wife, Jodi, who live in Canada.

I think David has three new fans.

Motor Man had a couple of engine customers competing in the two -day event. One of those racers, Doug, had two second-place finishes in the 2.5 stock class, and the other, Todd, won The Eastern Divisional Championship in his 5-litre.

Before a win is official, the boat, including the engine, has to pass post-race tech inspection. Motor Man was nearby for that process.

The following day, we were all excited to see a picture of Todd’s boat, taken during the race, on the front page of our local paper. We sent Todd back to Canada with several copies to share with his friends and family.

Daily Press photo

Congrats to our customers for races well run…. and to my Motor Man.

~These Days Of Mine~

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Perhaps it’s the lazy days of summer, but blogging seems to have become increasingly difficult recently. I know I’m not alone, since fellow bloggers have posted the same sentiments. Here are five completely somewhat random thoughts:

1.) Our frequent rain showers that we were enjoying earlier in the summer have come to an end, and keeping plants alive is now requiring daily watering. Adding to my chores is this beautiful planter I discovered at Lowe’s this week. I think it’s worth it.

2.) Sure wish I could grow zinnias as pretty as these.

3.) We’ve had some amazing skies recently, including this sunrise from yesterday morning. There are some advantages in being an early riser.

4.) The biggest race of the year is tomorrow night at our local track. The weather forecast for tomorrow evening: clear and in the upper 70’s. Sounds just about perfect.

5.) Our family reunion is scheduled to be at our house on August 1. We’re hoping for nice weather, as opposed to this, the day of the reunion two years ago. (See Random Thought #1 above….)

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1.) If you see these on your grocer’s shelves, run, don’t walk, as quickly as you can –in the opposite direction. They are highly addictive. This is our second bag (thank you, Marshall, for telling us about them – I think). I wanted to include them in this post, and since the first bag was empty, well, I was forced to purchase more.

2.) Last Saturday evening, while at the races, Motor Man and I had mechanical problems with our vehicle. Turns out, we needed a new alternator. But, there are worse places to be in need of jumper cables than at a race track. (I mean, it isn’t like we were at the opera….). A friend happened along with jumper cables, and we were soon on our way.

3.) You may recall the magnifying mirror/water faucet incident of a few weeks ago. I’m happy (and relieved) to report that the Dare County Water Department reduced our bill from a hefty $419 to $153. They probably had a good chuckle about what happened.

4.) Motor Man and I have a recliner in our bedroom, and I’m usually the one who sits there. Wednesday evening, I was at our desk, using the computer, so he was in the recliner. A little later, I referred to it as “my recliner”. I went down the hall and when I returned, I saw this sign on the chair back. Once a little boy, always a little boy….

5.) Last night, we finally had our friend, Shirley’s, birthday celebration. It was postponed from February, when a snow storm interfered with our original plans. A GREAT time was had by all – including Sundae.

1.) “Sunshine On My Shoulder” was my first thought when I spotted Sundae on her window seat early Wednesday morning.

2.) Yesterday, I “babysat” my friend’s great-niece, who will be five next month. We had a fun afternoon, alternating playing inside with stickers and outside with bubbles. She told me a couple of times that I was a great baby-sitter. And just before her mom came to pick her up, she said to me: “We’ve had a fun afternoon.”. Nothing like a compliment from a child to warm your heart.

3.) I missed Tuesday’s sunset by seconds.

4.) Racing begins this weekend at our local short track; time to start those engines…

5.) Sunday afternoon, we’ll be gathering with Motor Man’s family for Easter. I’m bringing deviled eggs; perhaps I’ll try the pastel colors again like I did a couple of years ago.

It has been rather quiet ’round here this week, but I finally found five little bits of random to share.

1.) While many of you are having snow and ice, we’ve had several foggy mornings recently.

2.) This beautiful, hungry creature has decided that my liriope plants are free for the munching. (Photo taken through our bedroom window.)

3.) Since it’s been awhile since I’ve shared a photo of Gypsy, here’s one from earlier this week of her and her Motor Man. They were having a little chat.

4.) Jeff Gordon announced that he’ll retire after this racing season. Although he has his critics (who doesn’t), Motor Man and I have always “pulled for him”. I took this photo at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1998 or ’99.

5.) I love it when someone corresponds with me after discovering my blog through an internet search. This week, I was contacted by a gentleman who lives in Georgia. He suspects that we “share” a common ancestor: our 8th great grandfather. But he’s hit a snag in his research, and asked if I could help. So I pulled out my family genealogy information and several books, including “Old Surry” and “Colonial Surry” and did some studying last night. I found one little tidbit that just may be of some help to him. I’ll keep you posted.

Saturday night found Motor Man and me at Langley Speedway, our local short track, in Hampton, Va. When we arrived, it was a beautiful evening with practically no chance of rain.

This was to be the biggest race of the season. There are, on average, 15-18 cars entered in the Late Model division on race night at Langley. There were 37 there Saturday night, with many out-of-town drivers signed up for this special race, called the Hampton Heat. Late Model races are usually either 100 laps, or,sometimes, two 75 lap races during the night’s racing program. The Hampton Heat is 200 laps.

Before race time, Motor Man and I went “in the pits” to visit with our engine customers and racing friends. Everyone was watching the sky, but at that time, it appeared that the rain would move to our east.

Shortly before the 7:00 pre-race activities were to begin, it started to rain. It wasn’t a particularly long shower, and, once it stopped, the track-drying process began. If you are a race fan, you’re probably familiar with the jet-dryers at the large tracks. Langley doesn’t have those. There are a couple of small walk-behind dryers, but the main method used to dry the track is a tried and true one: old tires chained to the back of several tow trucks at the track. The trucks make lap after lap after lap around the track, and the tires create friction, which dries the track. When the tires begin to smoke, you know you’re getting close.

Before the races could begin, however, another rain shower came…this one much more intense than the first. This was the view through the windshield of our truck.

At least, after this storm passed, we were treated to a rainbow.

But it took much longer to dry the track the second time. Thankfully, Motor Man and I have trackside parking, so we were dry and cozy in our truck.

The Late Model race began around 11:15, and it was around 1:40 when the checkered flag waved.

After the race, the top seven finishers were required to go to “tech”: post race inspection at a building in the infield. And Motor Man had customers who finished second and sixth. So, down to the tech building we went. Teams were required to remove parts of the engines to be inspected. (Inspection showed that everyone was “legal”.)

Motor Man and I left the track at 3:20. A.M. As in morning. It was just about 4:00 when we got home.

We stopped and picked up our Sunday paper as we drove in the driveway.